The Right Place at the Right Time - Part 1

Kelly Kulina: Your Link to the Colleges

With warmer weather, the months of June, July and August promise to bring an abundance of summer baseball camps and showcases. As I discussed in my last entry, camps and showcases play an important role in the recruiting process. There is simply no substitute for being seen in person by a college coach, and prospective college baseball players cannot expect to rely on their high school or legion season for exposure. What I’d like to discuss in this blog is how players can maximize the benefits of going to both camps and showcases.

Individual college camps can be a great way to get significant time in front of a program’s coaching staff. Not only will players have the chance to get to know the coaching staffs and get a better feel for their coaching style, but coaches will have a very good opportunity to see the player as the complete package: both physical ability and the intangibles. Many college camps also offer plenty of opportunities to spend time on campus. However, players need to define the reason they’re going to the college camp. Is it instruction, or is it for recruiting? Are you going as a camper or as a prospect?

A camper is a player that receives information in the mail. He will be given a lot of great, hands-on instruction and will take a lot away from the camp. A prospect is a player that comes to camp after having regular correspondence with a coach and enough mutual interest to warrant being seen in person, possibly even a personal invite. During the freshman and sophomore year, it’s OK to be a camper. You will definitely want to take every advantage of the outstanding coaching/instruction that’s available. By the junior year, however, there needs to be more of a focus on finding camps that have prospect opportunities.

At this time, you should have an idea of what levels of college baseball you should be looking at. Being evaluated by professional baseball people who give you an unbiased assessment of your ability would be strongly recommended. If you’ve never had this done, check out our Signature College Recruiting Program. This will save you a lot of time, energy and money in the long run, not only to determine what college camps you should attend, but more importantly to assist you in the college search process. We’ve talked a lot about being realistic in the process, and that needs to be in play here. Can you see yourself playing at this school? Is there a need? Can you get into the school? Do your homework and take a look at the program’s depth chart and roster. If the team features a lot of young players at your position, it does you no good to attend regardless of how well you perform.

Some dangerous assumptions when considering camps:

• I am a prospect.


• If I don’t attend their camp, they won’t recruit me.


• Most players on their roster attended their camp.

Check in next week when I discuss the benefits of attending a college showcase, and its role in the recruiting process.

Kulina is a former Associate Head Coach and recruiting coordinator with the University of Maryland. As a former recruiting coordinator for ten years in the ACC, Kulina has vast contacts and is widely respected throughout the nation. From 1989 to 2000, Kulina coached 46 players who were selected in the MLB draft.